Hymn #1He is the valiant Son of Peace. Together we are the Sons of Oil, we are the kings and priests of the Lord. His seat is at Nob. He is a furnace and is the prophecy of God. He has come to spoil and to scourge. He is the scorpion of change. With him comes growth.

He is to be desired and we shall strive after him. Together we shall be our father’s brother. He tells me to be silent and become still. To prate, babble and to pray! To cut away the desire to be high, instead to increase, flow, and give up the ego. Embrace this lamb unto dizziness and happiness with great rejoicing.

Our Lord is our father; benefactor, cherisher, sustainer; teacher. He is the blooming freshness; the blossom-time, and the fruit. We entreat him to enter, to lead, and to bear us up during our trials.

O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

An attempt to render down my readings to a single sentence or key phrase.

READING LIST SUMMARY:

Liber II, The Message of the Master TherionSummery: The Law of Thelema is absolute freedom to do your will and absolute slavery to that will.

Liber IV, Liber ABA (Part 2) MagickSummery: Every tool is symbolic of the work. Every tool is a narrowing down of focus on the work.

Liber X, Liber Porta LucisSummery: The society is tangle and intangible. The truth hidden all around you in every faith, creed, and science. You will be guided along the known paths until you are ready to see. When you are finally ready, you will discover the society and be admitted, not as a student but as a brother.

Liber XIII, Liber Graduum Montis AbiegniSummery: Expand and master the self following the paths of the tree of life up to tiphareth, then obtain knowlege and conversation of your holy guardian angel. Liber XXX, Liber LibræSummery: Equilibrium is the basis of the Work.

Liber XXXIII, An account of the A:.A:.Summery: When the world is in need the order brings forth events to lead mankind. But all exterior societies subsist only by virtue of this interior one. As soon as external societies wish to transform a temple of wisdom into a political edifice, the interior society retires and leaves only the letter without the spirit.

Liber LXI vel CausaeSummery: Initiation and equilibrium is and always has been, the key to the mysteries. Overcome your own obstacles and expose your own illusions. Know thyself. Overcome thyself.

Liber LXV, Liber Cordis Cincti SerpenteSummery: An account of the relations of the Aspirant with his Holy Guardian Angel.

Liber LXXVII, Liber OzSummery: Man has the right to live by his own law.

Liber XC, Liber Tzaddi Vel Hamus HermeticusSummery: Intiation is the end of sorrow, salvation from folly, idleness, and slavery. Only imbalance is evil, and equilibrium is perfect.

Liber CL, Liber CL Vel לענ, A Sandal, De Lege LibellumSummery: The Law has four rays: Liberty, Love, Life, and Light.

Liber CCXX, Liber AL Vel Legis, The Book of the Law Summery: Do what thy wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the Law, Love under Will.

Liber CCC - Khabs am PekhtSummery: The establishment of the Law of Thelema is an essential element of your True Will. Spread the Law by your example and success.

Liber DCCCXXXVII - The Law of LibertySummery: There is no virtue in repression, only joyous expression of self. Liber CMLXIII, The Treasure–House of ImagesSummery: Travel to your star in the fine body and inflame thyself in the adoration. Postcards to Probationers, Aleister Crowley Summery: Yoga and Magick are the art of uniting the mind to a single idea. As balance is key, understand all these things and unite them with the supreme method of silence in samadhi.

One Star in Sight, Aleister CrowleySummery: The fundamental purpose of the Order is to further the Attainment of humanity. It's members exist in their own Truth, and move in accordance with their own Wills.

Little Essays Towards Truth, Aleister CrowleySummery: The various trances involve passing beyond the conditions which oppress. The object of all Magical and Mystical training is to become free from every kind of limitation.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The text of Liber XXV is reproduced endlessly in various books and sources, although instructions for the actual performance of the ritual is rare. When instructions are found they vary a great deal, some only slightly and others a great deal. None of various instructions have resonated with me on more than a superficial level. Starting from scratch, using my own intuition and understanding of the ritual so far, I have produced my own method of performance that does in fact resonate profoundly within my own being.

----------------------------------------------

1. The Opening Facing East, in the center, draw deep deep deep thy breath closing thy mouth with thy right forefinger prest against thy lower lip. Assume the god form of Hoor-par-kraat, standing upon the serpent. Then dashing down the hand with a great sweep back and out, expelling forcibly thy breath, cry APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS. ("Away every evil spirit")

3. The Banishing: Advance to the East.Draw the hands to the sides of the head. Inhale deeply the name THERION down to malkuth, then up to tiphareth. While still retaining the breath, imagine strongly an averse Pentagram, at the brow. Fling it forth with the sign of Horus and vibrate THERION. See the averse pentagram shoot out to the ends of the universe. Retire thine hand in the sign of Hoor-paar-Kraat, left finger to the lips and right hand extended. See and feel the pentagram return, hitting the sphere of sensation and burning in red flame before you.

Turn to your left, right hand still extended, projecting a line to the North. Draw the hands to the sides of the head. Inhale deeply the name NUIT down to malkuth, then up to tiphareth. While still retaining the breath, imagine strongly an averse Pentagram, at the brow. Fling it forth with the sign of Horus and vibrate NUIT. See the averse pentagram shoot out to the ends of the universe. Retire thine hand in the sign of Hoor-paar-Kraat, left finger to the lips and right hand extended. See and feel the pentagram return, hitting the sphere of sensation and burning in red flame before you.

Turn to your left, right hand still extended, projecting a line to the West. Draw the hands to the sides of the head. Inhale deeply the name BABALON down to malkuth, then up to tiphareth. While still retaining the breath, imagine strongly an averse Pentagram, at the brow. Fling it forth with the sign of Horus and vibrate BABALON. See the averse pentagram shoot out to the ends of the universe. Retire thine hand in the sign of Hoor-paar-Kraat, left finger to the lips and right hand extended. See and feel the pentagram return, hitting the sphere of sensation and burning in red flame before you.

Turn to your left, right hand still extended, projecting a line to the South. Draw the hands to the sides of the head. Inhale deeply the name HADIT down to malkuth, then up to tiphareth. While still retaining the breath, imagine strongly an averse Pentagram, at the brow. Fling it forth with the sign of Horus and vibrate HADIT. See the averse pentagram shoot out to the ends of the universe. Retire thine hand in the sign of Hoor-paar-Kraat, left finger to the lips and right hand extended. See and feel the pentagram return, hitting the sphere of sensation and burning in red flame before you.

Turn to your left, completing the circle, pause and feel the four pentagrams blazing with power about you.

4. The Paian: Retire to the centre and raise thy voice in the Paian. O! the heart of N.O.X. the Night of Pan. P.A.N. Pi, Duality, Casting the Seed into the Field of Night. Alpha, Energy, Life and Death. Nu, Death, To beget is to die; to die is to beget.

5. Invocation of the Guardians Extend the arms in the form of a Tau and say low but clear: PRO MOU JUNGES(Before me Junges) Visualize before you Atu V, the Hierophant. The conception is initiator of the will. The teaching and learning of the law.

OPISO MOU TELETARCHAI(Behind me Teletarchai) Visualize behind you Atu XII, the Hanged Man. The conception is maintainer of the will. Guidance by true will, not ideas.

EPI DEXIA SYNOCHEIES(On my right hand Synoches) Visualize on the right of you Atu VIII, Lust The conception is perfecter of the will. Fueling the soul's journey into self consciousness.

EPARISTERA DAIMONES(On my left Daimones) Visualize on the left of you Atu XVII, the Star. The conception is executor of the will. Inspiring the ego with higher collective forces.

6. The Attainment: The arms still in the form of a Tau and say low but clear: FLEGEI GAR PERI MOU O ASTER TON PENTE(About me flames the pentagram)KAI EN THI STELE O ASTER TON HEX ESTHKE(And in the column stands the six-rayed star.)

8. The Closing Facing East, in the centre, draw deep deep deep thy breath closing thy mouth with thy right forefinger prest against thy lower lip. Assume the god form of Hoor-par-kraat, standing upon the serpent. Rest in this until you feel done.

--------------------------------------------------

Notes and Comments:

The star ruby is a banishing ritual both microcosmic and macrocosmic. It is obvious in The Book of Lies version the ritual corresponds to the macrocosmic elemental directions of the fixed signs of the Zodiac. Leo/Fire in east, Scorpio/Water in the north, Aquarius/Air in the west, and Taurus/Earth in the south. A pentagram extended through the macrocosm combining the effects of the banishing ritual of the pentagram and the banishing ritual of the hexagram. In the Magick in Theory and Practice version, this changes, either through a typo or lack of understanding on our part the elemental arrangement is unclear.

Using Sabazius X elaboration upon the guardians: "Their functions are, respectively, as "initiators," "maintainers," "perfectors," and "executors" of the Divine Creative Impulse which originates in the intelligible world and ultimately manifests in the sensible world." Turning to the tarot for imagery of the quarter guardians we find a tidy alignment of those discriptions with the trumps of the fixed signs. Junges / Hierophant / Taurus, Teletarchai / Hanged Man / Water, Synoches / Lust / Leo, and Daimones / Star / Aquarius. (Scorpio is the fixed sign of water which is Death, but the symbolism for that card did not match. Taking the Golden Dawn idea of using the alchemical eagle rather than base scorpio, results in Mem / Water being a better fit.) This would put the elemental arrangement identical with the one used in Liber V vel Reguli.

As in Liber V the pentagrams are seen as averse. Only appearing that way as we have shifted our point of perception from the earth to sol, in essence, standing upside down surrounded by the belt of the zodiac. The text in Liber XXV never say to formulate averse pentagrams, although it never says not to either, rather it only says that the pentagrams are formed aright. Aright - Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake.

The text for the Paian is taken almost word for word from The Book of Lies. Describing the process of duality entering into the briatic consciousness of the night of pan and discovering unity of the cycle of death and life, nox and lvx.

Monday, March 28, 2011

This outline is a general tract of the tarot trumps and their associated paths upon the Tree of Life; the powers attributed to their attainment, and suggested practices to acquire them. Overall it could be seen as a outline of work for the A:.A:., excluding the sepharoths themselves. Although the paths can be seen as the combination and equilibrium of the two sepharoth they connect. Further the paths are generally seen as dynamic and in flux as compared to the static state of the sepharoths, which is why "mastery" of these powers attributed is never complete but rather works in progress, on going and never ending.

Using the outline of the A:.A:. as given in One Star in Sight, the grades and levels align as below crossed referenced with Liber XIII.

Atu 20. Shin - The AeonThe Passage of the King’s Chamber. Liber H H H, section AAA. Meditations of death–waking, leading to the understanding of the unison between Fire and Spirit. A meditative form of Ritual CXX.

Path or Trump: Atu 18. Qoph - The MoonThe Divining of Destiny. Liber Memoriæ Viæ CMXIII. Liber XIII has for this path, Methods of Divination, which fits the power attributed, "The Divining of Destiny", so perhaps Liber LXXVIII would be more fitting.

Notes provided: Internally, Liber CMXIII refers the practice described to the grade of Adeptus Exemptus.

Zelator

Atu 19. Resh - The Sun The Illumination of the Sphere. Liber H H H, section MMM. A meditative reenactment of the inner operation of the Neophyte Ceremony, Ritual DCLXXI

Note: Section AAA is ascribed to Shin and Section MMM is ascribed to Resh. Where would Section SSS of Liber HHH fit?

Atu 4. Tzaddi - The EmporierThe Formulation of the Flaming Star. Liber V. The added notes with this document says it cannot refer to Liber V vel Reguli, which had not been written when Viarum Viæ was published. Could possibly be a reference to the Star Ruby. Regardless the Star Ruby or Liber V vel Reguli would be an adequate fit.

Atu 12. Mem - The Hanged ManThe Sleep of Siloam. Liber CDLI is assumed to be (The 15th Chapter of Liber CDXIV) Of Eroto-comatose Lucidity. A sexual method of trance.

Philosophus

Atu 13. Nun - Death The Preparation of the Corpse for the Tomb. Liber XXV. The Star Ruby.

Per the attached notes, The citation here makes no sense if Liber XXV is taken as being the Star Ruby. In Liber XIII it states, He is given a meditation-practice on the Senses, and the Sheaths of the Self, and the Practice called Mahasatipatthana.

Atu 10. Kaph - Fortune The Evocation of the Mighty Ones. Liber (???)

No name or number is given for the suggested practice. Liber XIII states: Instruction and Examination in Construction and Consecration of Talismans, and in Evocation. This along with the title, "The Evocation of the Mighty Ones" suggests possibly this was supposed to be the Goetia or even Liber Chanokh.

The Order of the R. C.

Adeptus Minor

Atu 8. Teth Adjustment The Passing of the Hall of the Balances. LIBER XXX AERUM, Vel Saecvli, Sub Figvra CCCCXVIII. Being of the Angels of the 30 Aethyrs THE VISION AND THE VOICE

Atu 6. Zain - The LoversThe Utterance of the Pythoness. Liber MCXXXIX. No such document that I know of.

Atu 2. Gimel - The PriestessThe Supreme Ecstasy of Purity. Liber LXXXIII. The only known Liber LXXIII is The Urn which post-dates Viarum Viæ by some years.

Atu 11. Lamed - Lust The Protection of the Sphere. Liber O. A case can be made for chapter IV, the rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, but due to the level of the grade, chapter III, assumption of godforms is assumed.

This paper has been written not only with the object of attracting individual seekers into the way of Truth, but of affirming the propriety of the methods of the A:.A:. as the basis for the next great step in the advance of human knowledge.

To man I come, the number of A man my number, Lion of Light;I am The Beast whose Law is Love. Love under will, his royal right—Behold within, and not above, One star in sight!

A poetic account of natural man lost yet seeking, before finding the one star in sight. The Astron Argon.

The Order of the Star called S. S. is, in respect of its existence upon the Earth, an organized body of men and women distinguished among their fellows by the qualities here enumerated. They exist in their own Truth, which is both universal and unique. They move in accordance with their own Wills, which are each unique, yet coherent with the universal will.

Every man and every woman is a star. Liber AL I:3

It should be stated that these Grades are not necessarily attained fully, and in strict consecution, or manifested wholly on all planes.

The general powers and levels of attainment do not necessarily happen in a linear fashion or full mastery complete, but rather by degrees. As stated later in One Star In Sight, "The outline given of the several successive steps is exact; the two crises -- the Angel and the Abyss --- are necessary features in every career. The other tasks are not always accomplished in the order given here; one man, for example, may acquire many of the qualities peculiar to the Adeptus Major, and yet lack some of those proper to the Practicus."

All members of the Order are in full possession of the Formulae of Attainment, both mystical or inwardly-directed and Magical or outwardly-directed. They have full experience of attainment in both these paths.

Note: Yoga and Magick

They are all, however, bound by the original and fundamental Oath of the Order, to devote their energy to assisting the Progress of their Inferiors in the Order. Those who accept the rewards of their emancipation for themselves are no longer within the Order.

Members of the Order are each entitled to found Orders dependent on themselves on the lines of the R. C. and G. D. orders, to cover types of emancipation and illumination not contemplated by the original (or main) system. All such orders must, however, be constituted in harmony with the A:.A:. as regards the essential principles.

The fundamental oath and purpose of the Order is to assist in the transformation and attainment of all. The law is for all. The initiate only seeks higher levels of attainment in order to be better equipped to serve others on the path. To forsake this is to lose your dispensation. As stated later in One Star in Sight, "The fundamental purpose of the Order is to further the Attainment of humanity, membership implies, by definition, the Will to help mankind by the means best adapted thereto."

All members of the Order are in possession of the Word of the existing Aeon, and govern themselves thereby.

The word of the aeon is Thelema.

The Order of the S. S.

Ipsissimus 10 = 1The Ipsissimus is pre-eminently the Master of all modes of existence; that is, his being is entirely free from internal or external necessity. His work is to destroy all tendencies to construct or to cancel such necessities. He is the Master of the Law of Unsubstantiality (Anatta).

Magus 9 = 2The essential characteristic of the Grade is that its possessor utters a Creative Magical Word, which transforms the planet on which he lives by the installation of new officers to preside over its initiation. This can take place only at an "Equinox of the Gods" at the end of an "Aeon"; that is, when the secret formula which expresses the Law of its action becomes outworn and useless to its further development.

To attain the Grade of Ipsissimus he must accomplish three tasks, destroying the Three Guardians mentioned in Liber 418, the 3rd Aethyr; Madness, and Falsehood, and Glamour, that is, Duality in Act, Word and Thought.

Master of the Temple 8=3The essential Attainment is the perfect annihilation of that personality which limits and oppresses his true self.

To attain the grade of Magus he must accomplish Three Tasks; the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite; the acquisition of the practical secrets alike of initiating and governing His proposed new Universe and the identification of himself with the impersonal idea of Love.

The Order of the R. C.

Babe of the AbyssThe Grade of the Babe of the Abyss is not a Grade in the proper sense, being rather a passage between the two Orders. Its characteristics are wholly negative, as it is attained by the resolve of the Adeptus Exemptus to surrender all that he has and is for ever. It is an annihilation of all the bonds that compose the self or constitute the Cosmos, a resolution of all complexities into their elements, and these thereby cease to manifest, since things are only knowable in respect of their relation to, and reaction on, other things.

Adeptus Exemptus 7=4The Adept must prepare and publish a thesis setting forth His knowledge of the Universe, and his proposals for its welfare and progress. He will thus be known as the leader of a school of thought. He will have attained all but the supreme summits of meditation, and should be already prepared to perceive that the only possible course for him is to devote himself utterly to helping his fellow creatures.

To attain the Babe of the Abyss, he must perform two tasks; the emancipation from thought by putting each idea against its opposite, and refusing to prefer either; and the consecration of himself as a pure vehicle for the influence of the order to which he aspires. He must then decide upon the critical adventure of our Order; the absolute abandonment of himself and his attainments. He cannot remain indefinitely an Exempt Adept; he is pushed onward by the irresistible momentum that he has generated.

Adeptus Major 6=5His work is to use these to support the authority of the Exempt Adept his superior. (This is not to be understood as an obligation of personal subservience or even loyalty; but as a necessary part of his duty to assist his inferiors. For the authority of the Teaching and governing Adept is the basis of all orderly work.)

To attain the Grade of Adeptus Exemptus, he must accomplish Three Tasks; the acquisition of absolute Self-Reliance, working in complete isolation, yet transmitting the word of his superior clearly, forcibly and subtly; and the comprehension and use of the Revolution of the wheel of force, under its three successive forms of Radiation, Conduction and Convection (Mercury, Sulphur, Salt; or Sattvas, Rajas, Tamas), with their corresponding natures on other planes. Thirdly, he must exert his whole power and authority to govern the Members of lower Grades with balanced vigour and initiative in such a way as to allow no dispute or complaint; he must employ to this end the formula called "The Beast conjoined with the Woman" which establishes a new incarnation of deity; as in the legends of Leda, Semele, Miriam, Pasiphae, and others. He must set up this ideal for the orders which he rules, so that they may possess a not too abstract rallying point suited to their undeveloped states.

Adeptus Minor 5=6It is characterised by the Attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. His work is to manifest the Beauty of the Order to the world, in the way that his superiors enjoin, and his genius dictates. The Adeptus Minor needs little help or guidance even from his superiors in our Order.

To attain the Grade Adeptus Major, he must accomplish two tasks; the equilibration of himself, especially as to his passions, so that he has no preference for any one course of conduct over another, and the fulfilment of every action by its complement, so that whatever he does leaves him without temptation to wander from the way of his True Will. Secondly, he must keep silence, while he nails his body to the tree of his creative will, in the shape of that Will, leaving his head and arms to form the symbol of Light, as if to make oath that his every thought, word and deed should express the Light derived from the God with which he has identified his life, his love and his liberty --- symbolised by his heart, his phallus, and his legs. It is impossible to lay down precise rules by which a man may attain to the knowledge and conversation of His Holy Guardian Angel; for that is the particular secret of each one of us; as secret not to be told or even divined by any other, whatever his grade. It is the Holy of Holies, whereof each man is his own High Priest, and none knoweth the Name of his brother's God, or the Rite that invokes Him.

The Grades of the Order of the G. D. The Aspirant is trained systematically and comprehensively in the various technical practices which form the basis of Our Work. One may become expert in any or all of these without necessarily making any real progress, just as a man might be first-rate at grammar, syntax, and prosody without being able to write a single line of good poetry, although the greatest poet in soul is unable to express himself without the aid of those three elements of literary composition.

Summery of Liber 185

Dominus LiminisIs expected to show mastery of Pratyahara and Dharana.TASKS: Let him receive Liber Mysteriorum. He shall pass examination in Liber III, Cap. III. He shall meditate on the diverse knowledge and Power that he has acquired, and harmonize it perfectly. Furthermore, he shall construct the magic Lamp, according to instructions in Liber A

Philosophus 4=7Is expected to complete his moral training. He is tested in Devotion to the Order.TASKS: He shall pass examinations in Liber CLXXV and in Construction and Consecration of Talismans and in Evocation. He shall moreover attain complete success in Liber III, Cap. II.Further, he shall apply himself to study and practice the meditations given in Liber V. He shall show some acquaintance with and experience of Liber O, Caps. V, VI. Whereof his Record shall be witness. He shall commit to memory a chapter of Liber DCCCXIII. Besides all this, he shall make constant and profound reflections upon the Path. Furthermore, he shall construct the magic Wand, according to the instructions in Liber A.

Practicus 3=8Is expected to complete his intellectual training, and in particular to study the Qabalah.TASKS: He shall pass examinations in Liber DCCLXXVII, the Qabalah, and Sepher Sephiroth. He shall attain complete success in Liber III, Cap. I. He shall further show some acquaintance with and experience of his chosen method of divination. He shall commit to memory Liber XXVII and pass examinations in the Ritual and meditation practice given in Liber XVI. Further, he shall pass in the meditation practice S. S. S., in Liber HHH. Besides all this, he shall apply himself to a way of life wholly suited to the Path. Furthermore, he shall construct the magic Cup, according to the instruction in Liber A.

Zelator 2=9His main work is to achieve complete success in Asana and Pranayama. He also begins to study the formula of the Rosy Cross.TASKS: He shall pass Examinations in Liber E, Posture and Breathing. He shall commit to memory a chapter of Liber CCXX; he shall pass examinations in Liber HHH. Furthermore, he shall construct the magic Dagger, according to the instruction in Liber A.Neophyte 1=10Has to acquire perfect control of the Astral Plane.TASKS: The Neophyte shall not proceed to the grade of Zelator in less than eight months; but shall hold himself free for four days for advancement at the end of that period. He shall pass the four tests called the Powers of the Sphinx. He shall apply himself to understand the nature of his Initiation. He shall commit to memory a chapter of Liber VII; and furthermore, he shall study and practice a chapter of Liber O in all its branches: also he shall begin to study Liber H and some commonly accepted method of divination. He will further be examined in his power of Journeying in the Spirit Vision. Furthermore, he shall construct the magic Pentacle, according to the instruction in Liber A.Probationer 0=0His principal business is to begin such practices as he my prefer, and to write a careful record of the same for one year.TASKS: Probation shall be at least one year. He shall commit a chapter of Liber LXV to memory; and furthermore, he shall study the Publications of the A.'. A.'. in Class B, and apply himself to such practices of Scientific Illuminism as seemeth him good.

All Members of the A:.A:. work by the Magical Formula of the Aeon.

They must accept the Book of the Law as the Word and the Letter of Truth, and the sole Rule of Life.

They must acknowledge the Authority of the Beast 666 and of the Scarlet Woman as in the book it is defined, and accept Their Will

They must accept the Crowned and Conquering Child as the Lord of the Aeon, and exert themselves to establish His reign upon Earth.

They must acknowledge that "The word of the Law is Thelema" and that "Love is the law, love under will."

Each member must make it his main work to discover for himself his own true will, and to do it, and do nothing else.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

"Let the Dominus Liminis take pure lead, tin, and quicksilver, with platinum, and, if need be, glass. Let him by his understanding and ingenium devise a Magick Lamp that shall burn without wick or oil, being fed by the Aethyr. This shall he accomplish secretly and apart, without asking the advice or approval of his Adeptus Minor. Let the Dominus Liminis keep it when consecrated in the secret chamber of Art. This then is that which is written: "Bring furnished with complete armour and armed, he is similar to the goddess." And again, "I am armed, I am armed."-Liber CDXII - A vel Armorum

The solution to this puzzle has eluded me for years. I had all the pieces before me but never saw it. The blindingly obvious answer leaves no doubt of the solution.

The Gordian Knot has been untied. The lamp has been lit. May it's light shine on the path before me.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Liber CL is easily one of the most beautiful and easy to understand of Crowley's writings. In it he describes the Law of Thelema as emanating in four rays consisting of Light, Love, Life, and Liberty. Each one impacts and strengthens the other as they are the same being of the Law. In a way they can be seen as a new aeonic version of the Christian's three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. They believed that these three virtues allowed man to share in God's nature. Thelema declares "the Law is for all" and it's four rays allow man to experience his own nature.

LAW: spring four Rays or Emanations: Light, Life, Love, and Liberty.

"By Light shall ye look upon yourselves, and behold All Things that are in Truth One Thing only, whose name hath been called No Thing for a cause which later shall be declared unto you. But the substance of Light is Life, since without Existence and Energy it were naught. By Life therefore are you made yourselves, eternal and incorruptible, flaming forth as suns, self-created and self-supported, each the sole centre of the Universe.

Now by the Light ye beheld, by Love ye feel. There is an ecstacy of pure Knowledge, and another of pure Love. And this Love is the force that uniteth things diverse, for the contemplation in Light of their Oneness. Know that the Universe is not at rest, but in extreme motion whose sum is Rest. And this understanding that Stability is Change, and Change Stability, that Being is Becoming, and Becoming Being, is the Key to the Golden Palace of this Law.

Lastly, by Liberty is the power to direct your course according to your Will. For the extent of the Universe is without bounds, and ye are free to make your pleasure as ye will, seeing that the diversity of being is infinite also. For this also is the Joy of the Law, that no two stars are alike, and ye must understand also that this Multiplicity is itself Unity, and without it Unity could not be. And this is an hard saying against Reason: ye shall comprehend, when, rising above Reason, which is but a manipulation of the Mind, ye come to pure Knowledge by direct perception of the Truth."

LIBERTY: except ye be free to act, ye cannot act.

"The great bond of all bonds is ignorance. How shall a man be free to act if he know not his own purpose? You must therefore first of all discover which star of all the stars you are, your relation to the other stars about you, and your relation to, and identity with, the Whole."

Discover your will, your purpose in life, then with clarifty and single minded direction pursue it. Light can shine in the darkness but focused into a laser it can cut through steel.

Slavery is freedom. You are already a slave; to a god or a religion, to a societies morals and values, your parents, your family, the herd. Give yourself to your own will rather than outside. As Bob Dylan said, "You gotta serve somebody".

2. Find the minimum of daily time which is in good sooth necessary to your natural life. The rest you shall devote to the True Means of your Attainment. And even these necessary hours you shall consecrate to the Great Work, saying consciously always while at these Tasks that you perform them only in order to preserve your body and mind in health for the right application to that sublime and single Object.

LOVE: Love is the enkindling in ecstacy of Two that will to become One.

"Seek ye all therefore constantly to unite yourselves in rapture with each and every thing that is, and that by utmost passion and lust of Union. To this end take chiefly all such things as are naturally repulsive. For what is pleasant is assimilated easily and without ecstacy: it is in the transfiguration of the loathsome and abhorred into The Beloved that the Self is shaken to the root in Love."

Suggestions:1. Here is the method of Love in Meditation. Let the Aspirant first practice and then discipline himself in the Art of fixing the attention upon any thing whatsoever at will, without permitting the least imaginable distraction.

2. Let him also practice the art of the Analysis of Ideas, and that of refusing to allow the mind its natural reaction to them, pleasant or unpleasant, thus fixing himself in Simplicity and Indifference.

LIFE: the consciousness of continuity given by memory.

"Life then is indestructible as all else is. Yet even as the blood in one pulse-throb of the wrist is not the same blood as that in the next, so individuality is in part destroyed as each life passeth; nay, even with each thought.

What then maketh man, if he dieth and is reborn a changeling with each breath? This: the consciousness of continuity given by memory, the conception of his Self as something whose existence, far from being threatened by these changes, is in verity assured by them. Let then the aspirant to the sacred Wisdom consider his Self no more as one segment of the Serpent, but as the whole. Let him extend his consciousness to regard both birth and death as incidents trivial as systole and diastole of the heart itself, and necessary as they to its function."

Man is not static as the masses believe. Man, as all things are, is always changing. Every moment and every second cells within you die and are reborn. Every new idea, concept, experience changes you ever so slightly. You are not the same being you were only a moment ago. To stop changing and remain the same is the true death.

Suggestions:1. The first mode is the acquisition of the Magical Memory.

2. The second mode is to dissociate the beings which make up your life. Firstly, you should segregate that Form which is called the Body of Light and set yourself to travel in this Form.

LIGHT: By Light shall ye look upon yourselves, and behold All Things that are in Truth One Thing only, whose name hath been called No Thing

"In this Light naught exists, for It is homogeneous: and therefore have men called it Silence, and Darkness, and Nothing. But in this, as in all other effort to name it, is the root of every falsity and misapprehension, since all words imply some duality. Therefore, though I call it Light, it is not Light, nor absence of Light. Many also have sought to describe it by contradictions, since through transcendent negation of all speech it may by some natures be attained. Also by images and symbols have men striven to express it: but always in vain."